The Help reigns again, thanks to Irene

Professional TV junky Deanna Barnert covers all corner of Tinseltown but good television is her passion. Visiting sets, interviewing industry players and critiquing the final product are all in a day's work, as is losing an evening — or ...

Irene devastates new releases

With hurricane Irene sending the East Coast into hiding, Aug. 26-28 was a frightful weekend at the box office. The Help managed to hold the lead without being cut down by Irene. New releases Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother were blown away.

Some pegged Guillermo del Toro's Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Katie Holmes, as the one to beat this weekend, but instead it turned out to be a frightful failure. It came in as one of the lowest openings for a horror flick ever, but managed to beat The Apes by a hair, with $8.69 million, for third.

Rise of Planet of the Apes followed with $8.65 million. That puts The Apes total domestic take at $148.5 million in 22 days. Tack on international sales, and the film has passed the $300 million mark.

Conan has a long way to go to recoup its $90 million reported budget. The revamp has banked $22.1 worldwide so far, leaving quite a gap.

In contrast, while The Smurfs have dropped to seventh stateside, the little blue guys are still raging overseas. This weekend, TheSmurfs, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Final Destination 5 fought a seriously tight battle. With The Smurfs expected to be crowned official victor when final numbers come in, Final Destination 5 has banked $119.7 abroad, almost twice the $66.5 domestically take.

The new contenders for Labor Day weekend include The Debt, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D, along with limited releases Love Crime, Saving Private Perez, Seven Days in Utopia, InSight, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Bodyguard and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy.

Box Office Top Ten: Aug. 26-28, 2011

1 The Help $14.3 million ($96.6)2 Colombiana $10.3 million3 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark $8.69 million4 Rise of the Planet of the Apes $8.65 million5 Our Idiot Brother $6.6 million6 Spy Kids: All the Time in the World $5.7 million7 The Smurfs $4.8 million8 Conan the Barbarian $3.1 million9 Fright Night $3 million10 Crazy, Stupid, Love. $2.9 million